Stornoway

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Almost two years have passed since Victoria Street's Liquid Room was gutted by fire, so the venue's role as one of the hubs of this year's Edge Festival comes by way of its grand return to form. Unfortunately, tonight's performance suggests that all is not well with the refurbishment, as a shoddy PA setup leaves both acts sounding distinctly lacklustre.

Opener Harper Simon—son of folk legend Paul—makes a valiant attempt to overcome a series of technical malfunctions, but his drawled vocals are reduced to little more than a dull, fuzzy monotone. A cover of the Buzzcocks' 'Ever Fallen in Love' is barely recognisable, and while the crowd are sympathetic to Simon's efforts, it's ultimately a painfully uninspiring experience.

Oxford folk quartet Stornoway fare a little better, performing with considerable panache and energy, but they too fall victim to badly flawed sound engineering. The low end is far too pronounced, with the bass and drum lines allowed to dominate proceedings, often to the point of drowning out Brian Briggs's beautifully melodic vocals. Quieter tracks like 'The Coldharbour Road' and 'Long Distance Lullaby' suffer, though more energetic interludes in the form of 'Zorbing' and a rousing rendition of 'Watching Birds' give a tempting glimpse of Stornoway's real capability.

Illuminated by a lively light show, the band look and sound decidely out of place. In fact, so inappropriate is their framing tonight that much of their material's trademark intimacy evaporates. The crowd are suitably supportive, but it's only with the encore, and a delightfully tongue-in-cheek unplugged performance of the banjo-heavy 'We Are The Battery Human', that they really pour on the adulation. Tonight's festivities show the green shoots of something beautiful, but it seems the Liquid Room's owners still have some work to do.